Safety electric light.



G. W. WACKER.

SAFETY ELECTRIC LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED MPG/5.1917.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

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GEORGE W.,WACKER, OF RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SAFETY ELECTRIC LIGHT.

T 0 all whom it mag concern Be it known that I, GEORGE W. WAcKnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rutherford, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain My invention relates'to electric lights of that type or kind in which provision is made for preventing the ignition of combustible or explosive gases or vapors from the incandescent lamp filament in the event of the breaking of the lamp bulb. Some provision for. overcoming this danger is essential to the safe use of an electric light, particularly of a'portable electric light, in certain places, such as in mines, where there is likely to be fire-damp, orcoal dust; also in places where there is likely to be gasolene vapor or other explosive vapors or gases, such as leaks of illuminating gas, for example. Heretofore many attempts have been made toward the carrying out of this idea, most of these prior constructions being complicated and many of them ineffective and therefore highly dangerous because of the supposed security where none exists. Objects of my present invention are to produce' an electric light which gives absolute se urity together with ruggedness and simplicity of construction, inexpensiveness of manufacture, and other objects and advantages which will hereinafter appear.

My invention includes an automatically returning contact member interposed in the circuit of the lamp and adapted to be moved to and maintained in the circuit-closing pcsition b pressure thereupon of the central terminal of the lamp, together with support.- ing means for holding the lamp in' position adapted upon damage to the lamp or to its support, to release the lamp, so as to permit the lamp to be shifted by su h automaticallv returning contact member, thereby to open or interrupt the circuit at a point between such automatically returning contact member and the source of current, such as a battery. In carrying out this main idea my invention also includes several features of construction and combination of parts as will appear from the following description.

I shall now describe the portable ele tric light embodying my invention illustrated in Specification of Letters Patent. PatentedDeg, 1'? 19j[8 Application filed May 5, 1917. Serial No. 166,537.

the accompanying drawings and shall thereafter point out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 i a longitudinal central section,

with parts in elevation, of a complete port- 'able electric light of the tubular type embodying my invention, with the circuit in the closed condition.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 1, with parts omitted.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the circuit in open condition after it has been automatically interrupted by reason of the fracture of the lamp bulb.

Fig. 4: is a transverse section on a plane indicated by the line 4-4-. of Fig. 3 as viewed from the right.

The portable electric light embodying my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings has a battery-containing casing which includes a main cylindrical shell or tubular casing part 1 of metal.

Near the 1 forward end. of the metal casing tube 1 a I guide-forming supporting disk or plate 2, shown as composed of insulating material, is securely held in place against forward thrust by means of a spring wire split ring 3 which is snapped into an internal annular groove in the casing part 1 which is pro'- duced by an external annular head 4, as clearly appears in the drawings,and this fixed plug-like disk or plate 2 is further held in place and prevented from displacement to the inside of the casing by means of small pins 5 whi h pass through the casing shell 1 and enter the plate or blo 3k 2 of insulating material.

Automatically acting circuit controlling devices now to be described are carried by the insulating disk 2 and include '-an automatically returning contact member shown as a longitudinally slidable metal stud 6 havmg an outer head, or flange 7 and an inner head or flange 8, the latter being shown as stud 6 and interposed between its outer head 7 and the adjacent outer end of the buslglng v 9 tends constantly to shift the slidable ntact stud 6 outward from itscircuit-closing position appearing in Figs. 1 and 2 to the open-circuit position thereof appearing in Fig. 3. At its outer side the insulating disk 2 is shown as provided with a recess 11 for the partial reception of and to provide more space for the thrust spring for the slidable contact stud 6, and at its inner side the insulating disk 2 is provided with a recess 12 for the reception of the inner head or flange 8 of the slidable contact stud 6, this recess 12 at the inner end of the bushing 9 being of suiiicient depth to entirely receive therein this inner head 8 so that the outer surface of the inner head 8 forming the end of the contact stud 6 will be within the re cess 12 below the adjacent surrounding surface of the insulating plate or disk 2 when the slidable contact stud 6 18 at its outer or open-circuit position, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

A transverse medially outwardly bent yoke 13, which may be formed of a strip of comparatively strong sheet metal, is secured at its ends upon the rear face of the plate or disk 2, for example, by means of rivets 14, appearing in Fig. 4:. A substantially U- shaped contact spring 15, which may be formed from a suitable strip of sheet metal as shown in the drawings, is secured adjacent to one of its ends at the inside of the outwardly spaced middle part of the yoke 13 by means of a central metal rivet 16 which extends through and has as shown, a head at the other or inner side of the yoke 13. At its other or free end the contact spring is shown as disposed in slightly spaced relation to the inner surface of the insulating plate or disk 2 in the path of the inner end f inner head 8 of the slidable contact stud 6 when this stud is pushed or shifted inward against the tension of its thrust spring 10 from the open-circuit position appearing in Fig. 3 to the closed-circuit position thereof appearing in Figs. 1 and When the slidable contact-making stud 6 is thus pushed inward the free end of the contact spring, 15 is adapted to yield so as not to interfere with the inward travel of this slidahle contact-making stud 6 and also for the purpose of assuring an eiiective electrically conductive contact between the inner end of the contact stud 6 and the contact spring 15, as clearly appears in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. tact stud 6 is pushed to its outer position, its inner end will bemoved out of contact.- with the adjacent, free end of the contact spring 15, and by reason f the fact. that the inner contact-making end of the slidable contact stud 6 is disposed within the recess 12, all possibility of circuit-completing contact being maintained with the contact spring 15 prevented, even though this contact spring 15 should, for any reason. become bent or distorted so as to press against the adjacent surface of the insulat- When the slidable conessence ing plate 2, as will be perfectly clear from an inspection of Fig. 3 of the drawings.

T he slidable automatically returning contact stud 6 normally, that is to say, in the normal or operating condition of the device is held at its inward r contact-making and circuitcompleting position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 by the pressure upon its outer end. of the central terminal 17 of a usual miniature incandescent lamp, having a usual screw-threaded metal base 18 forming the other terminal of the lamp, and having a usual glass bulb 19, shown as of globularor substantially spherical form. The base 18 of the lamp is mounted to slide freely within the smooth bore of a metallic lamp socket 20 which is detachably secured within a socket-supporting carrier ring 21 and is shown as screwing therein and as provided at its inner end with a projecting flange 22 which may be grasped by the fingers for attaching the lamp socket 20 or removing it from its metallic supporting ring 21. it should be noted in this connection that the internally screw-threaded opening in the socket-supporting carrier ring 21 is of sutficient size or diameter to permit the easy passage therethrough of the globular lamp bulb 19, so that the lamp may be inserted vinto place or removed together with its socket 20 from the inner side or back or" the socket-supporting ring 21. In the normal or working condition of the device the lamp is held in place in the smooth bore of its socket 20 by means of an abutment member which engages at the outside of the lamp bulb 19 and which, in the construction illustrated in the drawings, is shown as a reversely bent or substantially U-shaped wire stirrup 23, the ends of which enter and pass through an annular reflector-engaging enlargement on the socket-carrying ring 21 and which are firmly secured in place, such,

for example, as by soldering in place the exposed inner ends of this stirrup 23.

'The lamp-socket-snpporting carrier ring 21 is shown as supported by a usual metallic reflector 2 1 .to which it is shown as secured by means ofv inner and outer flanges and an interposed insulating annulus 25. It should be noted in this connection that this insula tion of the metallic supporting ring 21 and the lamp socket 20 carried thereby from the metallic reflector 24 is not necessarily essential to the carryimgout of my invention, butonly forms a detail feature of the general construction of the portable electric light illustrated in the drawings in which my invention is shown as embodied, and it is to be distinctly understood that my present invention could be carried out-in a difi'erent construction of portable electric light not having the lamp socket insulated from the metallic reflector by which it is supported. The metallic reflector 24 is supported atits I I nasasoe outer marginal edge by means of a usual lens 26 and its usual screw-threaded metallic carrying ring 27 which is screw-threaded over the outer end of a usual bell-shaped outwardly enlarged extension 28 from the forward end of the tubular casing shell 1 to which the bell-shaped extension 28 is rigidly secured.

A usual battery, having a paper insulating tube 29, is shown incased within the metallic casing tube 1 with its carbon terminal 30 in contact with theexposed head of the metal rivet 16, which holds in place the contact spring 13 upon the yoke 13, and with its zinc terminal 31 in contact with a usual battery-supporting electrically conductive coiled thrust spring 32 which is carried by and at the inside of a usual metallic end cap .33 which is screw-threaded over a usual metallic end band 34 on the rear end of the cylindrical casing part 1. It will now be noted that the thrust of the battery-supporting spring 32 is borne by the yoke 13, as is likewise any pressure or jar due to the weight or to the inertia of the battery, and that such pressure or thrust is transmitted by the yoke 13 to the insulatin' supporting disk or plate 2 which, as herein efore descrlbed, is firmly fixed within the casing part 1 and serves as' ate electrically conductive parts including the tubular casing part 1, and also including the automatically acting circuit-controlling means ofmy invention hereinbefore described,a circuit controller of a usual construction is provided. The metallic casing tube 1 isslotted, as appears in Fig. 1, to

' form a guideway for tubular rivets 35 which secure together a manually actuatable circuit-controlling slide 36 at the outside of the casing tube 1 and a longitudinally mov v able metallic contact strip 37 at the inside of the tubular casing part 1, a strip 38 of fiber or the like'being shown as interposed between the slide 36 and the outer polished surface of the metallic casing tube 1. The

' conductive contact strip or contact finger37 extends forward within the tubular casing part 1 through a notch 39 provided in the edge of the insulating plate 2 for the passage of this contact strip 37, and, at its for ward end, the longitudinally movable metallic contact strip 37 isshown as turned in ward at an obtuse angle for circuitcontrolling engagement with the flange 22 of the tact strip 37 away from and out of contact with the flange 22 of the lamp socket 20 and will open the lamp circuit at this point.

It' will now be evident that the battery circuit through the lamp is subjected to a double control, one of which is efiected by means. of a usual manually operated circuit controller, such as just described, and the other of which is afforded by the automatically acting hereinbefore described circuit controller of my invention. The circuit may be traced from the carbon electrode 30 of the battery through the conductive rivet 16, contact spring 15, automatically acting slidable circuit-controlling stud 6, the central terminal 17 of the lamp and through the lamp filament to the outer lamp terminal or'base 18, metallic lamp socket 20, longitudinally movable manually actuatablc contact strip 37, outer metallic casing part 1, screw-threaded end band 34, metallic end cap 33, and battery-supporting thrust spring 32 to the zinc electrode or cup 31 of the bate y- In the operation of the safety electric light of my invention it will be noted that any blow or other damage thereto which results in the fracture of the glass lamp bulb 19, such, for example, as is illustrated in Fig. 3, will leave the lamp unsupported aga nst the outward thrust of the circuit-opening spring 10 and which will instantly shift the circuit-controlling stud 6 away from its rear or circuitclosing position, illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, to its forward open-circuit position. appearing in Fig. 3, pushing the unsupported broken lamp, forward in its socket and opening the circuit between the rear end of the slidable circuit-controlling stud 6 and the adjacent free end of the yieldable contact spring 15, as is clearly illustrated in Fig.3. In practice it has been found that the lamp circuit will, by these means constituting my invention, be opened so quickly that no ignition of an explosive mixture 1n the surrounding atmosphere can takeplace. Also it will-be noted that if by any means the lens 26 should be broken or dislodged without the breaking of the lamp bulb 19, p

the lamp would be left unsupported by reason of no support then being afiorded to the margin of the reflector 24 which, together with the lamp, could then be pushed forward by the circuit-opening spring 10 to open the circuit between the rear end of the slidable circuit-controlling stud 6 and the contact spring 15, although it is hardly conceivable that the heavy lens 26 could be broken'or rib dislodged without at the same time breaking the lamp bulb 19, it being understood, of course, that no danger can exist until the lamp bulb 19 is broken.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the corstruction shown in the drawings and above particularly described within the principle and scope of my invention.

1 claim:

1. A portable electric light having, in combination, a lamp socket in which the base of an incandescent electric lamp is adapted to slide inward or outward, a reflector detachably supporting the lamp socket and from which the lamp socket is removable toward the back of the reflector, and an abutment member carried by the reflector and engageable with the lamp bulb at the front thereof for retaining the lamp in the socket.

2. A safety electric light having, in com bination, a supporting member provided with an aperture, a contact-making stud slidablv mounted in said aperture, a spring for pressing said stud outward, an abutment member carried by said supporting member, and a contact spring carried by said abutment member and adapted to be engaged by and to yield backward with said slidable contact-making stud, said contact-making stud being adapted when unrestrained to be moved by its spring to a forward position in which this stud is out of contact with said contact spring and the circuit thereby interrupted.

8. A safety electric light having, in combination, a lamp socket in which the base of an incandescent electric lamp is adapted to be slidably received for outward movement of the lamp in the socket, a reflector detachabl supporting the lamp socket and from which the lamp socket is removable toward the back of the reflector, an abutment member carried by the reflector and engageable with the lamp bulb for normally preventing the sliding forward of the lamp in its socket, and an automatically returning contact member adapted to be held at the circuit-closing position by the lamp and adapted automatically to return to the open circuit position when relieved from the pressure of the lamp thereon.

' 4. A safety electric light having, in 00111- nation, a longitudinally slidable stud forming an automatically returning contact memher, a guide for said stud, a circuit-opening spring for pressing said stud outward into contact with the central terminal of an incandescent electric lamp, a lamp socket in which the base of the lamp is slidably mounted for outward movement of the lamp in the socket, a reflector detachably supporting the lamp socket and from which the lamp socket is removable toward the back of the reflector, and an abutment member aeaeoa carried by the reflector and engaging the lamp bulb for normally preventing the sliding forward of the lamp in its socket.

5. A safety electric light having, in combination, a longitudinally slidable stud forming an automatically returning contact member, a guide for said stud, a circuitopening spring for pressing said stud outward into contact with the central terminal of an incandescent electric lamp, and a circuit-completing member adapted to form a battery terminal supported by the guide for said slidable automatically returning stud and having a resiliently yieldable part positioned in the path of the rear end of said stud in its rearward circuit-closing movement.

6. lhe invention claimed in claim 4 in combination with a circuit-completing mem ber adapted to form a battery terminal supported by the guide for said slidable automatically returning stud and having a resiliently yieldable part positioned in the path of the rear end of said stud in its rearward circuit-closing movement.

7. The invention claimed in claim 6 in which the supporting guide for said stud is in the form of a plate of insulating material into which said stud is withdrawn by its circuit-opening spring in the open-circuit position of said stud.

8. The invention claimed in claim 6 in combination with a battery-containing casing part in which the supporting guide for said stud is secured against movement so that the circuit-completing member carried by said support forms a thrust-receiving abutment for the battery for thereby relieving the central terminal of the lamp from pressure orshock transmitted from the battery.

9. A safety electric light comprising a tubular battery-containing casing part, a reflectOr supported thereby at one end thereof, a conductive lamp socket carried by the reflector and provided with a smooth bore for slidably receiving the conductive base of a miniature electric lamp, said lamp socket being detachably supported by the reflector so as to be removable from the reflector at the back of the reflector, an abutment member carried by the reflector at the front thereof and engageable with the lamp bulb for retaining the lamp in its socket under normal conditions, a transversely arranged supporting disk fixed within the tubular casing part and provided with a central aperture, a contact-making stud slidably mounted in said aperture, a spring for pressing said stud outward into contact with thecentral terminal of the lamp, an abutment member carried by said supporting disk and adapted to receive the thrust of the battery, and a contact spring carried by said abutment member and forming one terminal of the battery and adapted to be engaged by and to yield backward with said slidable contact-making stud, said contact-making stud being adapted to be moved by its spring together with the lamp when the lamp is unsupported to a forward position in which this stud is out of contact with said contact spring and the circuit through the lamp thereby interrupted.

10. The invention claimed in claim 3 in which said abutment member is a bent wire forming a stirrup.

11. The invention claimed in claim 5 in which the supporting guide for said stud is in the form of a plate of insulating material into which said stud is withdrawn by its circuit-opening spring in the open-circuit position of said stud.

12. The invention claimed in claim 5 in combination with a battery-containing casing part in which the supporting guide for said stud is secured against movement 50' that the circuit-completing member carried by said support forms a thrust-receiving abutment for the battery for thereby relieving the central terminal of the lamp from pressure or shock transmitted from the battery.

13. The invention claimed in claim 7 in combination with a battery-containing casing part in which the supporting guide for said stud is secured against movement so that the circuit-completing member carried by said support forms a thrust-receiving abutment for the battery for thereby relieve ing the central terminal of the lamp from pressure or shock transmitted from the battery.

14. A safety electric light comprising a tubular casing part, a reflector supported thereby at one end thereof, a conductive lamp socket carried by the reflector and provided with a smooth bore for slidably receiving the conductive base of a miniature electric lamp, saidlamp socket being detachably supported by the reflector so as to be removable from the reflector at the back of the reflector, an abutment member carried by the reflector at the front thereof and ,engageable with the lamp bulb for retaining the lamp in its socket under normal conditions, a transversely arranged supporting disk fixed within the tubular casing part and provided with a central aperture, a contact-making stud slidably mounted in said aperture, a spring for pressing said stud outward into contact with the central terminal of the lamp, an abutment member carried by said supporting disk, and a contact spring carried by said abutment member and adapted to be engaged by and to yield backward with said slidable contact making stud, said contact-making stud being adapted to be moved by its spring together with the lamp when the lamp is un- 1 being detachably supported by the reflector so as to be removable from the reflector at the back of the reflector, and an abutment member carried by the reflector at the front thereof and engageable with the lamp bulb for retaining the lamp in its socket.

16. A safety electric light having, in combination, a tubular casing part, a transversely arranged supporting disk fixed within the tubularcasing part and provided with a central aperture, a contact-making stud slidably mounted in said aperture, a spring for pressing said stud outward,'an abutment member carried by said supporting disk, and a contact spring carried by said abutment member and adapted to be en a ed by and to yield backward with said sli a le contact-making stud, said contactmaking stud being adapted when unrestrained to be moved by its spring to a forward position in which this stud is out of contact with said contact spring and the circuit thereby interrupted.

17. A portable electric light having, in

combination, a tubular battery-containing casing part, a lamp socket supported thereby at one end thereof and adapted to expose the central terminal of the lamp at the inside of said casing part, said lamp socket being adapted slidably to receive the base of the lamp for outward movement of the lamp in the socket, means engaging the bulb of the lamp for retaining the lamp in place in the socket, an electrically conductive abutment member mounted against forward movement in said casing part so as to form a thrust-receiving abutment for one of the terminals of the battery and adapted to relieve the lamp from pressure or shock transmitted from the battery, and yieldable contact means resiliently engaging the central terminal of the lamp and adapted to complete the circuit of the battery from said thrust-receiving abutment through the lamp. 1

J. W. WALLER, J. W. VOQBHIS. 

